Painful Questions of Blame
Parents, Doctors And The Disputed Link Between Vaccines And Autism

By Meg McSherry Breslin for the Chicago Tribune
http://tinyurl.com/q3ngd

It has been nearly 50 years since mothers
shouldered the blame for their children's autism. Yet for many parents, echoes
of that painful era remain. In the 1950s and '60s, the medical community
accepted University of Chicago psychoanalyst Bruno Bettelheim's assessment that
"refrigerator mothers"--those with a supposedly cold, unloving demeanor--brought
on their children's disorder. Although we now know that autism
is a neurological disorder and not the result of bad parenting, the exact cause
remains a mystery. Many parents, however, are convinced they've found the
answer. And
most experts are on the opposing side. Indeed, few medical battles are more
charged than that between parents who believe mercury in their children's
vaccines brought on autism and the medical establishment that has found no
evidence to support that claim.

Not only do these families feel enormous
frustration with the many doctors who dismiss their theories, but they sometimes
blame themselves for what happened while also struggling with the terrible
stress of caring for an autistic child. This sensitive issue was brought into
sharp relief last month after a
37-year-old Peoria area doctor was charged with first-degree murder in the death
of her 3-year-old autistic daughter, who was suffocated. Police say the doctor
confessed to the murder, though she has entered a plea of not guilty. Friends of
Karen McCarron said the murder charges came as a shock. Still, many said they
recognized emotional turmoil in McCarron in the months before Katie's death.
Some who knew McCarron through her work with an autism support group say the
physician blamed herself for allowing her daughter to be vaccinated, and feared
that the available remedies wouldn't make enough of an improvement to her
daughter's quality of life. Others suggest that perhaps working among other
doctors skeptical of the vaccine connection created an emotional tug of war for
McCarron.

"I just think she had a lot of guilt," said Dr.
David Ayoub, a radiologist and associate professor at Southern Illinois
University who occasionally talked with McCarron. Ayoub is a leading supporter
of the
mercury-causes-autism theory and is trying to dig up evidence to prove it. Much
of the passion surrounding this issue stems from the fact that autism can be one
of the most difficult disorders to manage. Though cases range from mild to
severe, the toughest ones can be harrowing for parents, some of whom have to
watch their children constantly for fear they will jump in front of a car, bang
their head against a wall, or lash out at others. Some parents describe the most
extreme cases as being like having a hyperactive 2-year-old who never grows out
of his impulsive, risky behaviors.

Understandably, parents want the mysteries that
surround autism to be settled, to have some answer for why the number of cases
has exploded. Having the medical community discount their beliefs makes them
feel as if all hope of their children improving has been stripped from them.
"All of us have been told pretty much the same thing," said Christina Blakey,
an Oak Park mother whose 6-year-old son has autism. "The doctors all say this is
very, very serious and this is a very debilitating disorder. There is no cure
and there are no treatments. So we're at odds with the medical community now."

Like other parents who believe in the mercury
connection, Blakey says some acceptance of their theory might lead to better
treatment of their children. She and other parents say that once they began
looking at their children as being poisoned by mercury, their approach to autism
treatment changed and their children began getting better. After Blakey found a
Chicago-area doctor willing to work with her son
on a controversial treatment called chelation therapy--which removes mercury and
other toxic metals from the body--she saw dramatic change in her son's behavior.
She said a wheat- and dairy-free diet has also produced positive changes, yet
many doctors she initially consulted were skeptical. The idea that mercury in
childhood vaccines causes autism has circulated for years, with parents saying
their children were developing normally until they received certain
vaccinations.

But the American Medical Association, the
Institute of Medicine andthe American Academy of Pediatrics, among others, have
concluded there is no scientific data to support a mercury-autism link, despite
an exhaustive review of cases worldwide. Nonetheless, mercury has been phased
out of most
childhood vaccines, although some parents say the move is too recent to
determine what effect it might have on autism rates. While recognizing
parents' frustrations, some doctors say they don't engage in mercury-related
treatments because they're obligated to stay away from unproven remedies that
could do more harm than good. Chelation, for instance, could strip the body of
essential minerals as well, said Dr. Bennett Leventhal, a University of Illinois
at Chicago psychiatrist, an expert on autism and the director of an Illinois
task force on the disorder. Furthermore, Leventhal is convinced mercury does not
trigger autism. "If mercury was the cause, we'd be all over it," he
said. "It might help shed some light on what areas of the brain are damaged and
it might give us some clues to the genetic susceptibility and help us find some
answers. But unfortunately, it just isn't turning out to be the case."

Laura Schreibman, director of the Autism Research
Program at theUniversity of California at San Diego and author of the 2005 book
"The Science and Fiction of Autism," says intense behavioral therapy is the only
proven treatment to improve the effects of autism. But she understands why
parents are drawn to alternative therapies designed at drawing out mercury.
"There's a lot of distrust that families have with the scientific community,"
she said. "But it all boils down largely to the fact that we don't have the
answers. I can't tell you what causes autism."Meanwhile, parents continue to
make their case, reaching out to lawmakers, government officials and physicians
to tell their stories. + Read more: http://tinyurl.com/q3ngd

I am glad you have decided to take on this
controversial topic, but I want to clarify some of the comments Meg made,
particularly about my own involvement, which I think are misleading.
First, I am no longer "trying to dig up" evidence to prove vaccines cause
autism. There is already abundant evidence, the same conclusion made by a 2003
US Congressional Committee. This debate is not scientific, but is
political. I am trying to encourage physicians who have been badly misled by
nothing less than spin and propaganda to review the extensive scientific
evidence for themselves showing the vaccine-autism link, even though "experts"
disagree. I am also lobbying to get mercury removed from vaccines. The statement
indicating mercury "has been phased out of most childhood vaccines" is a gross
distortion of the truth." The flu vaccine contains a very large amount of
mercury and the number of flu shots given to children has increased dramatically
since 2004. Contrary statements are commonly provided by public health officials
and representatives from the American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization
receiving tens of millions of dollars from drug makers, when in fact, the only
thing that counts is HOW MUCH cumulative mercury is still being given to
children in vaccines. In 1999 it was 237 micrograms in the first 4 years of
life, in 2003 it had dropped to below 5 micrograms, but today it is back up to
125 micrograms when you include prenatal flu vaccine exposure. On a
weight-adjusted basis, the exposures really have not declined at all.

The "passion" you spoke of that provides my
motivation does not come from the fact that this disorder is difficult to
manage. Many illnesses are difficult to manage. The passion comes from the fact
that 1) this is a preventable disorder 2) we are still harming children by
injecting them with 11-16 times the amount of mercury the EPA considers safe 3)
the disorder is treatable. Everyone in your column that denies the link in fact
has a conflict of interest or strong bias to NOT believe it is a vaccine issue.

There are many peer-reviewed papers on the
success of treating children through a variety of interventions, mostly dietary
and biological supplements aimed at treating measurable biochemical
abnormalities. If autism was a psychiatric disorder, then why do children have
abnormal laboratories in dozens of tests that evaluate the immune system,
biochemical derangements, nutritional deficiencies, infectious agents and
toxicological abnormalities to name a few. Autism is beyond the expertise of
psychiatrists and psychologists who can only use behavioral therapy or drugs to
treat. It is no wonder they say there is no treatment, because there methods
are limited. Many "experts" such as Dr. Levinthal, are consultants for the drug
industry and have very strong bias to NOT even consider the science that
threatens their livelihood. If it were to be accepted that autism is a
toxicological disorder, patients would leave their practices in search of
appropriate biomedical therapies.

This is a financial conflict of interest.
he idea that mercury is associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder is not
restricted to parents. There are over 500 physicians in the US treating children
and improvements can be substantial and total reversals are possible. This is
not a "wishful thinking" statement coming from a parent, but from a physician
who has witnessed this happening first hand. Unfortunately, the media is the
victim of the same propaganda and has been badly led away from the truth. When
the mystery of childhood "Pink disease" in the 1950's was proven to be
physician-endorsed mercury poisoning through teething powders, the disease
disappeared following its removal. Over 50 years later we have made the same
mistake once again, patiently waiting for media to step up to the plate and look
at the evidence critically and tell the truth to the American public. Please
tell both sides of this important story.

David Ayoub - Thimerosal Definite Cause Of Autism

David Ayoub MD - Thimerosal Definite Cause Of Autism

To what degree of scientific certainty can we prove that current epidemic of
autism was caused by the mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, in childhood
vaccines?

In response to this question, David Ayoub, MD, told Independent Media TV, ''I
can state that the certainty of the science supporting mercury as a major cause
of autism is probably more overpowering than the science behind any other
disease process that I studied dating back to medical school.''

“I think a disease that effects more individuals than AIDS or cancer, in
previously normal infants and children,” he states, “has created a sense of
urgency amongst researchers.”

According to Ayoub, “A growing number of experimental, epidemiological and
biochemical research, has unequivocally shown that mercury is directly linked to
the development of autism spectrum disorders and is significantly toxic to the
gastrointestinal, immunological, metabolic and neurobiological systems in
children.”

“The science of causality is known and understood down to the manner in which
mercury impairs the neural pathways of attention,” he adds, “I really don't see
the need for more research to prove causality.” He believes the focus should be
“directed towards methods to remove mercury from the body and repairing those
biochemical systems that are injured by mercury.”

Ayoub is the Director of the Prairie Collaborative for Immunization, an
organization that is self-funded, which aids organizations, journalists, and
legislators obtain accurate information to assist their work. He is also the
author of the report, “Pregnancy and the Myth of Influenza Vaccination-Is it
safe, is it effective, is it necessary? What the CDC documents reveal.”

Vaccines With Thimerosal

When asked what vaccines still contain the mercury-based, thimerosal, Ayoub
said, “The major culprit today is the influenza vaccine.” About 80% of flu
vaccines contain as much as 25 micrograms of mercury per dose. Since the EPA has
set a limit of 0.1 mcg/kg (1 kg =2.2 lbs), Ayoub warns, everyone who receives
the vaccine will be overdosed.

He explained that in 1999, “the Public Health Service (including the CDC and
FDA), the American Academy of Pediatrics, and vaccine manufacturers agreed that
thimerosal levels in vaccines should be reduced or eliminated.”

However, he adds, “Contradicting its own policy, the CDC then increased
mercury exposure to the fetus and infant by allowing the inoculation of pregnant
women and young infants with the mercury-containing influenza vaccine.”

On May 28, 2004, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice of the CDC
released its annual report with recommendations for the prevention of influenza.
The report included pregnant women amongst those who should receive the flu
vaccine, even though the report noted only a minimal benefit from the vaccine in
pregnant women:

“Researchers estimate that an average of 1-2 hospitalizations can be
prevented for every 1,000 pregnant women vaccinated” (1, page 10)

In fact, for the 2003-04 flu season, the CDC reported “only 3 to 14% of those
who got vaccinated were protected against the flu.” It seems overly aggressive,
Ayoub maintains, for the CDC to recommend that all pregnant women be vaccinated
when, in fact, scientific data to date shows only marginal benefits and the only
documented benefit seems to be fewer hospitalizations, not fewer morbidities or
mortalities.

The benefit of influenza vaccination during pregnancy becomes even more
questionable when considering the resulting risks to unborn infants. According
to the ACIP, the safety of influenza vaccination is established by the following
research:

However, according to Ayoub, “In the April 12, 2002 MMWR, this same statement
was followed by the caveat “additional data are needed to confirm the safety of
vaccination during pregnancy.” The comment was then dropped from the CDC’s 2004
version of the report, but no new safety data was cited.

This solitary reference cited to establish influenza vaccine safety was
co-authored by researchers at Boston University in 1973, but Ayoub advises that,
“Upon closer inspection ... the study appears to have very little to do with
influenza vaccine safety, but rather that of polio vaccination safety during
pregnancy.”

It is inexplicable, Ayoub says, that the ACIP would cite a paper in support
of its conclusion of influenza vaccine safety while the Institute of Medicine
rejected the same paper on the basis of the flawed analysis of polio vaccine
safety.

Few doctors realize that most flu vaccines contain 25 micrograms of mercury
per dose. Both the EPA and FDA’s allowable daily exposure limits are 0.1
microgram per kg, meaning that recipients of a flu vaccine must weigh at least
550 pounds to meet federal exposure guidelines.

Therefore, by injecting the mother, the fetus would receive a dose of mercury
that exceeds the federal limits by several hundred-fold. Furthermore, Ayoub
adds, all federal guidelines are based upon studies of exposure tolerances in
adults, not a fetus.

He questions why the CDC is so certain that ethylmercury can be safely
injected into children or pregnant women, when the FDA and EPA have stated that
ingestion of methylmercury can have harmful effects on the fetus, with warnings
such as:

“some fish and shellfish contain higher levels of mercury that may harm an
unborn baby or young child's developing nervous system. . . . Therefore, the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
are advising women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and
young children to avoid some types of fish and eat fish and shellfish that are
lower in mercury. . . While it is true that the primary danger from
methylmercury in fish is to the developing nervous system of the unborn child,
it is prudent for nursing mothers and young children not to eat these fish as
well.”

More recent studies have detailed the life-long damage of mercury to the
brains of unborn children. For instance, on Feb 28, 2005, the Associated Press
reported, “Lower IQ levels linked to mercury exposure in the womb costs the
United States $8.7 billion a year in lost earnings potential, according to a
study released Monday by researchers at a New York hospital.”

The Mount Sinai Center for Children's Health and the Environment combined a
number of previous studies to determine hundreds of thousands of babies are born
every year with lower IQ associated with mercury exposure, according to AP.

Lead researcher and pediatician, Leonard Trasande, reports that annually,
between 316,588 and 637,233 infants are born with umbilical cord blood mecury
levels linked to IQ loss.

As an example, Trasande said each year, about 4% of babies are with blood
mercury levels between 7.13 and 15 micrograms per liter. That level of mercury
causes an IQ loss of 1.6 points, the researchers concluded.

A 1.6 point drop in IQ could cost a person more than $31,000 in potential
earnings over a lifetime, the study calculated, due to missed educational
opportunities or jobs.

Manufacturers of the flu vaccine themselves, include package inserts that
admit adequate studies have not been conducted on this vaccine. For example, the
Fluzone insert stated:

“Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with Influenza Virus
Vaccine. It is not known whether Influenza Virus Vaccine can cause fetal harm
when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity.”

Considering the rapid growth of autism, and other related neurodevelopmental
disorders, and the number of reports documenting the causal relationship to
mercury-based preservatives, Ayoub advises, “influenza vaccines should not be
administered to pregnant women, and perhaps other high-risk groups, especially
young children.”

Why Would FDA & CDC Approve Mercury-Based Vaccines?

Ayoub believes that the CDC and FDA embrace marginal research and unsupported
policies because of conflicts of interests. It may come as a surprise to most
physicians, he explains, “that the CDC has a built-in conflict of interest with
regards to its dual role in vaccine policy.” One limb of the CDC that oversees
vaccine safety has a budget of approximately $30 million, while the limb that
promotes vaccine usage (ACIP and NIP) has a $1 billion budget, he says.

The CDC and FDA policy decisions are made through physician advisory panels
whose members often have financial relationships with the very same
pharmaceutical companies that they are supposed to regulate.

For example, during a congressional hearing on potential conflicts of
interests at the FDA, it was revealed that 60% of the advisory members who voted
to approve the poisonous rotavirus vaccine had financial ties to the drug
companies manufacturing the vaccine. The committee also found that 50% of the
CDC members were tied to the rotavirus makers.

However, according to Ayoub, the CDC and FDA do not have exclusive rights in
coddling the industry. An investigation of doctors involved in co-authoring
forty-four different Clinical Practice Guidelines for drug companies found:

85% of guideline authors have some sort of relationships with drug companies,
and they are often not disclosed

38% of respondents said they had served as employees or consultants for drug
companies; 58% received research money

59% had links with drug companies whose medications were considered in the
particular guidelines they authored, almost all cases predating the guideline
creation process

These numbers may be even greater, as only 52% of authors responded

“Most clinicians would be surprised by these revelations which challenge the
blanket trust of a healthcare governance with uncomfortably close ties to the
pharmaceutical industry,” Ayoub says.

Available Treatment For Autism

When asked what treatments are available for autism, Ayoub said “The buzz
these days is chelation,” but there is no short answer to this. Suffice it to
say, there are 2 ways to get mercury out of the body - one is pull it out
directly by chelation agents.”

The 2 top chelation people in the world are Gary Gordon, MD, and Rashid
Buttar, MD, he adds.

Chelation agents such as DMPS and DTPA, are given orally, by IV, and recently
with transdermal as a cream. According to Ayoub, the agents essentially bind
free blood or loosely bound heavy metal agents, and eliminate them through stool
and urine. They lower the total body burden and allow for natural redistribution
from brain to blood for further removal. Ayoub claims side effects are uncommon,
and the process is far safer than a vaccine.

The other method of removing mercury from the body is through a variety of
biomedical therapies, all dietary or supplemental, “most of which act to jumps
start the bodies own internal mercury detoxification pathways,” Ayoub explains,
but “the science here is very sophisticated,” he added.

However, unfortunately, “many parents read about a diet or supplement, try
one or two therapies on their own and fail,” he says, and that “treatment is
very dependent upon the experience of the health care provider, critically so,”
he advises.

Why The Constant Denial?

Ayoub was asked why government agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, are
working so hard to keep the truth about the mercury-autism link hidden. He says
it is a long story, but the main reason is because if they admitted guilt, it
would mean the government agencies, drug companies and medical organizations,
“have taken part in the largest iatrogenic epidemic known to man.”

The fallout over admission of causality would be unprecedented, Ayoub adds.
The lost confidence in American medicine would likely cause people to turn to
alternative methods of medicine, and a rise in deeper investigation might reveal
the truth about other suppressions related to cancer therapy, hypertension Rx,
or Atherosclerosis.

Ayoub told Independent Media, “This is really the tip of the iceberg and I
see a waterfall effect.”

*************

(Evelyn Pringle is a columnist with Independent Media TV and an
investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government)

Ayoub spoke at the AutismOne conference in Chicago in 2004, and will
appear at the conference again in May, 2005. His CD-ROM titled, "Science and
Politics of Vaccine-Induced Autism,” contains resource materials and was
distributed at the DAN! conference in LA last fall. David M Ayoub MD, The
Prairie Collaborative for Immunization Safety Email Raypoke@mac.com